Midnight Talk
by KnifeInTheCrayonBox
Summary: When Elena wakes up from a nightmare, she ventures down to the library, only to find Mateo awake as well. Both are feeling sad and lost, but when Mateo finally tells Elena what's been bothering him, they're able to find comfort in each other.


_Midnight Talk_

The light from my candle cast long shadows as I made my way down the dark castle corridor. The nightmare that had woken me still rattled around in my brain. I couldn't sleep—not while the memory from earlier today was still fresh in my mind. Not while _she_ was still out there somewhere, holding the Scepter of Night.

Everyone thought Shuriki was dead. She had fallen off a cliff, what normal person could survive that?! But not only was she still alive, she now had the Scepter of Night—the only object that could match the power of my scepter. I had a head start on mastering its powers, but that didn't guarantee that I'd win in a duel against Shuriki. Far from it.

Pushing the thought from my mind, I focused on making my way to the kitchen. A nice hot cup of cocoa would calm my nerves. Normally I would have asked a servant to do it, but it was the middle of the night, and I didn't want to wake them for something like this. Besides, it gave me something to do other than stay cooped up in my room, driving myself crazy with worry.

As I passed by the Royal Library, a glimpse of light from inside caught my eye. Pausing, I turned my candle in the direction of the open doors. Who else would be up at this hour? Slipping into the room, I saw the door to Mateo's workshop open, light spilling out the entrance.

I crept up to the entrance and peeked inside.

 _Still burning the midnight oil?_ I had planned to say, but the words died on my lips at the sight that greeted me. Mateo sat at his work area, his elbows propped up on the table and his head in his hands. His hair hung in his face, obscuring it from view.

"Mateo?"

At the sound of his name his head jerked up, a startled look on his face. He relaxed when he saw that it was me, and swiped a sleeve across his face. That was when I noticed the tears gathered in his eyes. Before I could comment on it, he blinked them back and forced a smile.

"Hey, what are you doing up?" he asked.

"I had a bad dream and couldn't go back to sleep. What are you still doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep either," he replied, but I felt like that was only half the story. Nobody looked _that_ upset unless something was really bothering them.

Walking over to him, I placed a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Mateo was silent for a long while as he turned his gaze to me, big hazel eyes searching my own, as if he was looking for something. He must have found it, because he gave a sigh and said, "This was all my fault."

"Are you talking about what happened at the pyramids this morning?" Mateo nodded his head, and I felt a little tug at my heart. "Mateo, it's alright. We all make mistakes sometimes, even me. Today, I—"

"It's not just that, though," he interrupted. "Carla was only able to free Fiero because of me. I was the one who told her I had a potion that could reverse the spell, and I was the one who told her how to open the door to my workshop, and showed her where I kept the key." He shook his head. "Once, she even asked to see the Royal Treasury—and I almost let her inside!"

I gave his shoulder a squeeze. "Hey, you can't blame yourself for that—she had us all fooled."

"Naomi knew something was wrong. I should have known too…I can't believe I fell for it." He paused and looked down at the ground. He was quiet for a moment before adding in a small voice, "I can't believe I was starting to fall for her."

At those words, it suddenly clicked in my mind.

"You…you liked her?" I don't know why, but at that moment, something in my heart seized. It felt like something had wrapped their hand around it and was squeezing it as hard as they could.

"Yeah, and I thought she liked me too. Stupid, right? What girl would want to be with me? All I ever do is mess things up. If only I hadn't told Carla about the potion and shown her the key, they wouldn't have been able to free Fiero, and then Fiero wouldn't have been able to steal those pages from my Codex, and then they wouldn't have even _known_ about the Scepter of Night and—"

I reached forward and put my hand over his mouth, cutting off this trail of self-blame. Big hazel eyes glanced up at me, regret and sadness shining in them.

"Mateo, you couldn't have known Rita was Carla—no one blames you for that, okay? And if Carla isn't interested, then that's her loss. She was a fool not to see what a great guy you are." He gave me a look that was equal parts surprise and disbelief at my words, so I removed my hand from his mouth and continued, "You're smart, but you're not arrogant about it—you're humble. You're brave—I can't even count the number of times you've defended one of your friends. You have more determination that anyone else I've ever met—you taught yourself magic with nothing more than a few books! You're level-headed and not one to rush into things—the complete opposite of me!" I nudged him, managing to make him chuckle. Reaching down, I took one of his hands in my own. "And you're loyal too. I can't remember a time when you weren't there for me when I needed you."

His eyes narrowed just a bit in concentration and his head tilted slightly to one side, as if he was trying to figure out a very difficult spell. I wasn't sure what he was thinking, or what he was trying to figure out, but he wasn't sad anymore, and that was all that mattered to me.

Giving him a smile, I continued, "So don't worry, you'll find a girl who is able to see all the good things you have to offer."

His fingers squeezed mine in return, and it seemed he had reached a conclusion, because his face lit up. Now it was my turn to wonder, because the expression on his face didn't hold the usual affection it normally did—it seemed to be something more than that.

"Well, I'm going to head back to bed." I suddenly didn't feel the need for the cocoa anymore. Talking with Mateo and being able to cheer him up seemed to have the same calming effect as chocolate. I had a feeling that I might actually be able to get some sleep tonight. Giving him one last smile, I turned to leave, but his hand held onto mine, and that small tug was enough to make me stop.

Before I could ask what is was, Mateo stood and leaned forward, closing the distance between us just as I turned my head to face him. I'm pretty sure he had been aiming for my cheek, but his lips landed on the corner of my lips instead. A sudden warmth spread over me—starting where his lips brushed against the corner of mine. All previous thoughts jumbled together to form an incomprehensible mess—only the thought of how soft and warm his lips felt against the corner my mouth made it through.

I felt my eyes flutter closed in response. It only lasted a second before Mateo pulled away. When I opened my eyes again I saw his cheeks stained a dark red. "Thanks, Elena."

Cheeks burning, I opened my mouth to ask him what that had been for, what he was thinking, or really…any sort of coherent thought, but my brain was still trying to restart, and all that made it out was a muttered, "Uh-huh," before I dashed out of his workshop.

I didn't stop until I reached my room, then paused to take a deep breath, slumping against the door. Pressing a finger to the corner of my lips, my mind flashed back to the feel of his mouth pressed against my skin, and my heart skipped a beat. A hoard of butterflies felt like it had taken up residence in my stomach, and a silly smile had worked its way across my lips without a second thought.

I once again wondered how I had missed Mateo's feelings for Carla, but now there was a new question to ponder—how I had missed my own feelings for him.

* * *

 **I've been a fan of this show ever since I saw a YouTube video with Elena singing The Magic Within You, and went on week-long marathon to watch all the episodes. I fell in love with this pairing as I watched the show, and fan videos soon followed, along with this little story. More videos will follow, along with another story, which is already in the works!**

 **Leave a comment if you liked the story and want to see more! Thanks for reading! :)**


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